Small-school high school basketball tournament is a 63-year tradition in Waverly

WAVERLY — Tami Phillips' first year as a Waverly Holiday Tournament volunteer almost was her last. At least it seemed that way at the time.

But 21 years later, she can't imagine being anywhere else in the days — and nights — immediately following Christmas.

"It's what we do," said Phillips, a Waverly High School graduate and current high school secretary who's one of countless volunteers who've helped keep the event alive for 63 years.

"It's a lot of work. But somebody asked me a few years ago, 'Why do you do this?' It's just what I do. It's in our blood. In Waverly, this is what you do for four days. Everyone knows this is where I'm going to be."

Phillips doesn't get to see much, if any, of the actual basketball action involving many of the area's small-school boys teams. She sells tickets, helps count the money and makes sure the hospitality room is stocked and clean.

But she had to wonder what she'd gotten herself into the first year she was selling tickets — which are purchased just inside the main entrance at Waverly Grade School — along with fellow volunteer Lisa Nevius.

"My first tournament, when Lisa and I were out there selling tickets, it was so cold we couldn't even feel our fingers," Phillips said. "Every time the door opened, snow would be blowing in.

"It was so cold that year, we were giving money out and we weren't even sure if we were giving back the right change."

Long history

If there were any complaints about being short-changed, they aren't in the annals of the tournament's recorded history. And history is a big part of the Waverly Holiday Tournament, which even has its own History Room across the hall from the gymnasium.

Longtime tournament volunteers Jerry Bieler and Jim Roeschley are camped out in the History Room, which features every scorebook from every tournament. It goes all the way back to the inaugural game in 1951: Athens 67, Waverly 57.

There have been recent additions to the room, including this year's special tribute to longtime Jacksonville radio broadcaster Jerry Symons. He described many tournament games on WLDS and WEAI before he died at age 70 early this year.

Bieler said the History Room came about when the tournament celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2000. Originally it was meant to be a one-time display, but it's been part of the tournament ever since.

"A lot of things make the tournament special," Bieler said. "But it starts with the people who have a passion to give up four days of Christmas vacation to volunteer.

"Doing this is gratifying. A few years ago, a young man came in here and said, 'I didn't know my dad. But they told me he played in the tournament.' We looked it up and found the scorebook from when his father played, and we ran off copies for him.

"He came back a year later and said his fiancee had framed the copies for him. Things like that make it worthwhile."

Changing times

Any event that began when Harry Truman was in the White House has to hang its hat on history and longevity. But the Waverly Holiday Tournament keeps up with the times.

Roeschley oversees the tournament website, www.waverlyholidaytournament.com, where he posts tournament results and updates the list of leading scorers. The tourney also can be followed on Twitter at @WHThoops.

But Roeschley, who's been involved with the tournament since he came to Waverly as a teacher in 1965, said people take precedence over technology in making the event a success.

"What makes it go is the people we've had," Roeschley said. "People are interested in it and want to make the tournament go.

"It's an ongoing thing, but Shane's added so many little things over the years."

That would be Shane Gray, Waverly's athletic director and tournament director since 2005. He took over for longtime tourney director and Waverly principal Gary Stritzel.

Gray said he's tried to incorporate new features to the tournament without losing its sense of history and tradition. This year's addition is a Jerry Symons Memorial Plaque, which will go to the team with the best free-throw percentage over four games.

"There's always been the Christmas part of it, the friendly atmosphere," said Gray, referring in part to Waverly's cozy gymnasium. "There's a feel-good aspect to it.

"We can get 1,200 people in here comfortably, but we can squeeze in 1,500 (about 100 more than Waverly's population). It's a small-school tournament, but we want to make it a big-time atmosphere. We try to keep some futuristic thinking, adding things here and there."

Old friends

Steve Dilley, the coach at Buffalo Tri-City, said he brings his team to Waverly to try to win basketball games. But there's something more, Dilley said, that current teenage players may not appreciate until years from now.

"It's a family environment," Dilley said. "It's like going to grandma's for Christmas. It's a cozy old place where you see friends.

"To me, there's nothing where I say, 'Boy, I wish they'd do this differently.' It's a first-class tournament.

"We had to make some changes to our schedule a few years ago. We thought about dropping a tournament, and we couldn't drop out of the (Sangamon) county. But I said, 'We're not giving Waverly up, unless they kick us out.' This is second to none."

If there's a challenge to coaching at Waverly, Dilley said it's the proximity of the teams' benches to the playing floor. Most players' and coaches' feet usually overlap with the sideline.

"You're so close, you have to be careful," Dilley said. "You can get caught watching something down the floor, and an official runs right by you.

"But I enjoy it. It adds to the environment. It's a unique place. It's incredible."

When Dilley arrived on Thursday, he spent a few minutes talking to 102-year-old Theo Knust of New Berlin. While Knust has slowed down in recent years, he makes sure to attend at least a few days of the Waverly Holiday Tournament.

Theo was accompanied Thursday by his son, Tom Knust, along with Jim Blankenship, who's married to Theo's granddaughter, Nancy. Tom said their family has the same feeling about the tournament as the volunteers.

"It's the (tournament's) longevity, I guess," Tom said. "This is just what we do. This time of year, my car might come here without me, maybe."